Return of Naruto
by Anonymous Box
Summary: NaruHP: After nearly a year of being an offduty Shinobi, Naruto is forced into helping protect a school full of witches and wizards. At least he doesn't have to go alone.
1. Ramen

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Prologue

Naruto was in pain and it had absolutely nothing to do with the nine tailed fox demon sealed inside his naval.

The cause of the pain wasn't even physical. At least, he hoped it wasn't. A stab wound in the chest from a three foot long katana was going to be a bitch to explain to people when he hadn't been on a mission in almost a year.

No, Naruto was quite sure that he was still safely tucked into his bed asleep. The dream he was having, on the other hand, had him in a completely different scenario.

He didn't recognize the stone hallway or the stone wall he was pinned to. He didn't recognize the view outside the glassless window either. There was a blanket of snow on the ground and he could see a forest not far behind that. However, he did recognize the person braced in front of him holding the very object that was causing such discomfort to his chest.

"Orochimaru."

The man in front of him was and was not Orochimaru. The voice and very soul belonged to the snake sannin, but the body in which he occupied was none other than Uchiha Sasuke's. Orochimaru had successfully taken control of the Uchiha's body when they were fifteen. And he did it right in front of Naruto.

Naruto gritted his teeth together to keep from biting his tongue off when Orochimaru twisted the blade around, turning the sharp edge of the Kusanagi downward instead of up. The grin on Orochimaru's—Sasuke's—face pissed him off, so he spit bloodied saliva in his face. The bastard didn't even flinch.

"Now, now Naruto-kun," Orochimaru chided, "That isn't any way to treat an Uchiha, now is it?

Naruto reached up with both hands and gripped the blade, ignoring the cuts it made in his hands. "Fuck you, snake bastard." His breath hitched in the middle of the last word making it sound more like "Bastargk" than the intended curse.

This sudden lapse in his speaking ability seemed to amuse the snake sannin. Whatever Orochimaru was going to say, however, was rudely interrupted by an unfamiliar shout.

"Stupify!"

It sounded to Naruto like a stupid thing to yell, but the word made Orochimaru dodge out of the way, anyway. A line of red sparks flew at Naruto's head, but missed and instead charred the stone where his head had been. When Orochimaru had dodged, he had taken the sword with him leaving a hold slightly larger than the average quarter in the center of his rib cage and he had slid down to the ground, his feet unable to keep him standing.

Orochimaru sneered angrily and disappeared with a simple teleportation jutsu, his goal obviously incomplete. Naruto might've been more pissed that the sannin had escaped, but the blood loss was screwing with both his vision and his thoughts.

A pair of green eyes behind black rimmed glasses was the last things Naruto saw before a loud knocking sound roused him from the dream.

And for that, he was very grateful. Stab wounds hurt.

**Page Break Thingy**

Chapter One: Ramen

It took him a couple of seconds to unbury a stray kunai in his room before he made his way to the front door. He peered through the slightly opened door when the sound of an impatient huff came from his savior. His eyes opened completely at the sight of Sakura standing there with her arms crossed and one foot tapping and he opened the door a little wider. He was probably in trouble. Again.

"What's up Sakura?"

This obviously wasn't the smartest thing to say right then. The seventeen year old medic nin glowered at him, probably about to lose herself in another rand with him being the subject and target.

He hated being right.

"Do you know what time it is?" He didn't get a chance to answer her. "No. Of course you don't. You've been asleep. Its two o'clock in the afternoon you dimwit! Fourteen hour sleep cycles aren't healthy! Look at you! You're practically skin and bones! When was the last time you ate anything?"

He looked down at his pajamas which just consisted of a pair of sweat pants with bears printed on purple fabric holding signs that said 'Hibernating'. He frowned. He was getting rather thin and he knew that his ribs were starting to show. He cursed himself for not even putting a shirt on before answering the door. But he'd been a bit disoriented by the weird dream.

When Sakura didn't continue with her rant, he looked up. Sakura was frowning at him with an odd expression on her face. One that he didn't have a name for. It looked like a cross between anger, confusion, and sadness. Confusion? No, that wasn't it either.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" he asked. That seemed to have opened a flood gate.

"Am I okay?" she replied. "How can I be okay when I have to sit here and watch my last teammate, my best friend, slowly kill himself over something that was completely out of his control? It's been almost a year since you stopped accepting missions. Out of all of us, why were you the only one to give up like this?"

They stood in silence for a moment. Naruto really didn't have anything to say to that. Nothing that she would understand anyway. So, he opened the door all the way and invited her in with a wave of his hand. "Would you like to come in? I can get changed and we can get something to eat. How about that?"

Sakura didn't reply at first making Naruto wonder if she was still angry. But, then she smiled a little at him. "That sounds great." She stepped inside and poked a finger into his chest; coincidentally in the exact same spot the dream Orochimaru had stabbed him. He had to hold his breath to keep from grimacing at the phantom pain. Luckily, she didn't notice.

"I'm dropping it for now," Sakura continued, "but don't think that you're getting away with this by just buying me a late lunch."

Naruto shrugged and closed the door behind them both.

"Figures."

At least she was happy enough to laugh at him now.

**Page Break Thingy**

Ten minutes and a quick change of clothes found them at the Ichiraku Ramen stand and waiting on their orders. The stand was deserted except for the two of them, but that was to be expected during that time of day.

The old man had been happy to see his old customer alive and well and had said so. This included a hug over the counter by Ayame, who was now engaged to a man named Ichiro.

Naruto had first met Ichiro during his Jounin Exams and approved whole heartily of her choice. Ichiro and Naruto had been brought together when they were both attacked by a team of Mist Chuunin during the Jounin Exams. The combination of wind techniques from Naruto and the flawless genjutsu from Ichiro proved to be more than the Mist shinobi could handle. Thus, all three were defeated and the two Leaf shinobi acknowledged each other.

Naruto had gained many comrades before he had stopped accepting missions. He had been well on his way to accomplishing his dream too, but the events surrounding Sasuke's 'death' had really turned Naruto's world upside down.

"Naruto?"

Naruto had long since stopped calling her Sakura-chan. They had become relatively close after Sasuke died and had gone to one another when things got bad. However, neither one were looking for an actual relationship. Naruto grew up and got over his childish crush over Sakura and Sakura started dating Lee. Things had stayed just that way until Naruto had pulled away for reasons unknown to all but him.

Naruto looked at Sakura with a smile. "Yeah?"

Sakura wouldn't meet his gaze making Naruto worry again. He glanced warily at the old man cooking the noodles and Ayame who was cleaning a bowl from the lunch hour. If Sakura was going to bring up his behavior again, he didn't want them to hear it. He didn't need more people on his back about his health, despite the fact that that was what he had strived for when he was younger.

Thankfully, his worries were unfounded. Even if the topic was just a serious.

"There's another reason for my coming over to your house today." She paused, as if she didn't want to be there all the sudden. Naruto silently motioned for her to continue. What could be so bad that she didn't want to tell him?

"Tsunade-sensei… She has a mission she wants you to take."

Oh. So that's what it was.

Naruto laughed and Sakura stared at him in something akin to shock. "The old woman knows that I don't go on missions anymore. It must be some kind of joke."

Sakura shook her head. "It's not. I'm supposed to go with. I was told to bring you with me to her office as soon as possible. Which probably means after we eat now that we're here." Naruto stared back at her, trying to determine if she was joking or not. He didn't like his conclusion.

It was at that moment that the ramen was set in front of them. Neither one said a word as they ate.

TBC

Read and Review


	2. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Thanks for the reviews. I made this one longer. I want to keep them at least this long if not longer in the future. This is going to take place during the 7th book, but I'm changing some of the main events towards the end of the 6th to suit my purposes. Dumbledore did not die. Instead, Snape was somehow caught before he could carry out his plan, whatever it was. (I haven't finished reading the 6th one. My sister told me the ending of it and I just didn't feel like finishing it after that.) So, because Dumbledore did not die, I'm having Harry come to Hogwarts to finish the 7 years. I know virtually nothing about the Horuxes other than they have something to do with Voldemort. If someone would be so kind as to fill me in, I would greatly appreciate it.

Happy Reading.

**Chapter Two: The Mission**

Naruto expected Tsunade to be asleep, drooling on her paperwork when they entered her office.

He wasn't disappointed.

Sakura sighed and moved to wake up her teacher. Naruto smiled. Sakura and Shizune were possibly the only people that could wake the old woman up without getting thrown, punched, slapped, or yelled at for doing so. This act was proved when Sakura bent down and whispered something into the sleeping woman's ear, waking her up. The words that were spoken were unknown to all but the three women and all who tried to figure those words out never spoke of the incident again. When asked about it, they would instantly start stuttering and make an excuse to leave. Naruto was glad he'd never tried.

The Godaime Hokage looked from Sakura to Naruto and then down at a scroll to her right. "Took you brats long enough." She picked up the scroll, looking at it with a slightly confused expression.

"Ramen," Sakura replied, as if that explained everything. Tsunade chuckled and leaned back in her chair, looking up from the paper at Naruto.

"You've gotten taller," she said.

Naruto smiled smugly. "I'm catching up to Shino, now." He was avoiding the real subject and he knew it. "What's this I hear about you assigning me a mission?"

Tsunade sighed. "I know you've said numerous times that you weren't going to take anymore missions, but this one is special--."

"No."

"Naruto, at least let Tsunade-sensei finish what she was saying."

Naruto didn't look happy, but he didn't try and say anything else either. Tsunade turned a grateful expression to her apprentice before continuing. "This mission is something I have not told the Council about and I'm not planning to." This incurred a slightly more desirable reaction from Naruto. "I'm not telling them because of the who and where of this mission. It won't go on record, but you will be paid."

"Hold on," Naruto interrupted again. "You're talking as if I've already accepted the mission."

"Whoever said I was giving you a choice?" Tsunade answered with a grin. Before he could interrupt, she continued. "Naruto. The Council is talking about stripping you of your rank completely. Unless you take this mission, I can't stop them."

Naruto frowned. "Okay, so what's the mission? How am I going to get credit for going if you haven't gotten the Council's approval for it?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you, but you interrupted me."

Naruto had the decency to look slightly sheepish. "Right, sorry." Tsunade stood up and handed the scroll to Sakura who then walked back next to Naruto.

"Most people aren't aware that there are lands outside of the Shinobi countries. The employer of this mission is a resident of those lands and claims to have been a close friend of Sarutobi, of who he originally addressed the letter to. He needs guards to guard the school that he leads and I chose the two of you for two reasons. One, I can trust you to keep this a secret. Two, this is to be a mission that lets you, Naruto, retrain yourself and sharpen your skills to rejoin your peers as an active duty shinobi again. I need you, Sakura, to go to make sure that Naruto doesn't kill himself while he is training.

"I'm also treating this as a reconnaissance mission," she continued. "I had thought that the Shinobi lands were still undiscovered, but it seems that I was wrong. If this man knows about us, then who else might know? I need you two to learn anything you can so if we need it, we'll have information on our side. Understood?"

They both nodded.

"Okay," Tsunade said. "That scroll has all the necessary information in it, but I'll review it just in case something was forgotten. Your employer is a man named Albus Dumbledore and he is the Headmaster at the school called Hogwarts, which teaches its students magic. Yes, Naruto. Magic."

Naruto spoke anyway. "It's a school, right? And a Magic School. Why would he need guards? Shouldn't they have their own security or something?"

Tsunade and Sakura glanced at each other. He was starting to act more like himself now, which was a good sign. Give Naruto something to argue about and he starts to feel better.

"Dumbledore-san claims that the current security isn't sufficient to protect the students from what they need protection from," Tsunade replied.

"Then he should get better security," Naruto countered.

Tsunade picked up a scroll off of her desk and threw it at the blonde shinobi, who dodged. The scroll missed, but just barely. "That's what you two are going for!"

Naruto stared. "Oh." Sakura hid her smile behind her hand.

Tsunade sighed and sat down with a huff. "You'll both need to gather your things together by tonight. Tell whoever you want that you're leaving, but not where or why. If they need an excuse, tell them you're going on a personal trip for me. Dumbledore-san will send someone to escort both of you to the school at seven-thirty. Don't be late."

They both nodded and teleported out of the office. Tsunade sighed and glared at the paperwork she still had to finish, silently hoping that it would burst into flames so she wouldn't have to do it.

**Page Break Thingy**

Seven-thirty found them standing in Tsunade's office once more facing a woman in a very strange looking cloak.

"Awfully young to be experienced guards," the woman muttered looking both of them over.

Naruto had changed into the basic ANBU uniform minus the mask. He'd commented a while back how much better the uniform protected the body and he gained permission to wear one on missions. He'd though about asking for a mask as well, but decided not to push his luck. Besides, the bastards probably would have given a fox shaped one anyway.

Sakura was wearing the same style clothing she'd been wearing since she was fifteen. Apparently, the outfit proved very efficient in the field and stuck with it. The only difference was now the shirt was a deep forest green instead of the pinkish-red from when she was fifteen.

Naruto frowned at the woman's comment. "We're entirely qualified to partake in missions ranging from babysitting a two-year old to assassinating a highly guarded noble, ma'am. Just be glad we're on your side and not your enemy's."

Tsunade cleared her throat noisily. "That will be enough of that, Naruto." The woman looked like she was going to complain some more, but though better of it. Smart woman. Whoever she was.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall," the woman announced as if reading his mind. It didn't seem likely, but he wasn't going to completely rule it out just yet. After this, anything was possible. "Professor Dumbledore has sent me to escort the guards, which I presume are the two of you, to the school where you will be staying for the school term."

They both nodded having read over the mission requirements before their escort arrived. Naruto haven't been too pleased at having to stay for an entire year, but he was finally calmed down by Sakura who insisted that the year would give him more time to recuperate from his prolonged state of self indulged laziness.

This of course sparked an argument all of its own.

McGonagall pulled out a small mirror from her pocket, followed closely by a strange looking stick. She raised the mirror about chest level.

"This is called a portkey," she told them. There was a hint of begrudged annoyance in her voice like she didn't see the point in explaining it to them. Naruto, trying to play nice, chose to ignore it. "It is a device that, at a previously chosen time, will transport all those that are touching it to a preordained location. That location is, of course, Hogwarts." She looked at them as if she expected them to ask her what Hogwarts was. When they didn't, she looked up at the small clock hanging on the wall.

"We have about a minute before that time is here," she lowered the mirror and raised the stick. "This is a wand. I will be casting a spell on you that will temporarily change your language to the one that is spoken at the school." When neither of them opposed the action, she cast the spell sending a small tingling sensation to crawl across Naruto's skin. She cast one on herself and then spoke again. "Now we have thirty seconds before we leave."

Knowing what to do, Naruto and Sakura stepped forward and each touched the mirror that McGonagall once again held out.

"Stay safe you two," Tsunade said even though they couldn't understand her. "I want my apprentice and little brother back in one piece if you think you can manage that." They nodded at her, understanding the gist of what she was telling them through her tone alone.

A strong tug at their stomach pulled them out of the Hokage's office and into a world of swirling colors.

**Page Break Thingy**

The colors disappeared moments later and the two shinobi found themselves standing awkwardly in front of a school full of children as old as they were and younger. McGonagall put the mirror back into her pocket and sat at the long table behind them, leaving the two shinobi feeling as if they were our of their element. Which they probably were, but Naruto didn't feel like acknowledging that part of the situation at the moment.

The large room had gone very quiet upon their arrival and Naruto was about to say something that had the potential to embarrass them, but he was saved from having to do so when an aged man with a longer beard than the Sandaime stood up.

"And here they are," the man stated as if finishing a sentence. Naruto felt oddly left out, as if he'd missed the crucial part of the conversation that would have made the statement make more sense. He probably had, in this case. So he said the most logical thing that came to mind at that moment.

"Huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and bowed to the old man and Naruto, catching the drift, followed suit. "You are Albus Dumbledore, then?"

"And you, the guards," Dumbledore replied with a polite nod. Naruto was reminded of Sandaime for some reason. Something other than old age and a leadership position connected the two together in his mind, but he didn't know just what that connection was. Yet.

Sakura replied with another bow, which Naruto did not copy this time around, and faced the students with a kind expression on her face.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I specialize in medicines and healing although I am not limited to such." She looked at Naruto who took that as his cue.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He paused there, not really wanting to give out any information about his fighting abilities to potential enemies, but he didn't want to just say his name. Then again, he could tell them and then let them underestimate him. That's how he beat most of his opponents anyway. Having decided, he continued. "I specialize in mostly short-ranged offensive techniques." It wasn't quite a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. It would work.

Halfway through his introduction, his gaze fell on a teen with dark hair and glasses. The boy met his glance and they stared at each other for a moment. Then, something clicked in Naruto's brain.

Green eyes.

The same eyes from his dream. Nightmare. Whatever.

But before he could voice his thoughts, their employer had them take their seats and the feast began. Naruto didn't recognize the food and after discovering the glasses wearing boy, he didn't have much of an appetite anyway. He decided that he would feel a whole hell of a lot better if he just started mapping out the grounds. So he excused himself after reassuring Sakura that he was fine and walked out of the huge dining area with nearly every student and most of the staff staring at his back.

**Page Break Thingy**

He guessed it had taken him approximately five minutes to get lost.

He had tried to go back the way he'd come, but he'd only ended up getting even more lost. Somehow, he stood in front of a flight of stairs that was in the process of changing its mind where it wanted to lead whoever decided to walk on its steps. He didn't know whether to shrug it off as mechanical or chalk it up to another weird thing that the McGonagall had called 'Magic'. Deciding not to decide at all, he started to climb up the still moving stair case until he heard a voice. Not the usual voice in his head, either. It was a real voice that echoed even over the loud scraping of the moving stairs.

The portrait on his left was speaking. It was a painting of an old woman wearing clothes very similar to those that the people back in the large room were wearing. The painting itself looked fairly new as well.

"A Shinobi?" she screeched. "There hasn't been a shinobi within these walls since before even my grandmother was born."

He turned to look at her. He would've been slightly more surprised to see a painting talk to him if a suit of armor hadn't tried to decapitate him with a dull blade in another of the halls. The woman in the picture seemed to relax when he did look at her.

"Well, at least it's a Leaf Shinobi," she decided. Deciding to ignore the crazy woman in the portrait, he started climbing the flight of stairs that had just stopped moving. Halfway up, however, the stairs started moving again and if he hadn't poured chakra to his feet to keep him attached to the steps, he surely would've fallen. It seemed that he had another thing to do in his spare time: Figure out exactly at what times the stairs moved. There had to be a certain sequence and schedule that they followed.

He thought about that among other things—mainly things that surrounded the current mission—until he realized just where he'd wandered.

The place was just how he saw it last. The window was in the same exact spot. The small lamp that lit the hallway was in the same spot. The stones were the exact same as well.

He walked over to where he last stood in the hall and took a look around. There were differences as well. The view outside the window was not that of winter, but the forest was still black and eerie. There was no pain. There was no Sasuke with Orochimaru's soul. But there was not doubt about where he was.

This was the place from his dream.

**Page Break Thingy**

TBC

Hopefully this is long enough. Tell me if it's not, so that I can make the next one even longer. Don't forget to Review!


	3. Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN: -sigh- Thank god for name generators. If it wasn't for them, then I never would have come up with the DADA professor's name. Oh, and forgive me for my horrible fight scenes. I've never written one before now.

**Chapter 3: Unexpected Visitor**

Naruto wasn't sure how long he sat against the wall staring out the lone window, but he knew it was getting late.

This place was the one from his dream. But visions didn't exist, right? And if they did, then why did he have one? Was it a coincidence that he had the dream, vision, whatever the night before he was given the mandatory mission? How much time did he have before Orochimaru found this place? Had he found it already and was just biding his time?

Too many questions and not an answer for one of them.

If the dream was a vision, then Naruto figured he'd have at least until November—providing the weather patterns were similar to Konoha—until it snowed. The dream showed that there was snow on the ground, leaving him enough time to prepare for whatever happened. If something happened at all.

"Sakura's probably worried," he thought aloud with a groan. He stood up and made his way back to where he knew the moving staircases would be in hopes of finding his way back. Or someone who knew how to. Luckily for him, Sakura found him on his third flight of stairs.

"Where were you? I've been looking for you for an hour!"

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head by habit. "Sorry about that, Sakura. I got lost."

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment, but seemed to find his answer believable. "Next time, keep a clone or something with me so that I can find you."

He nodded and Sakura led the both of them down the stairs and back to the dining hall of the school. There, Dumbledore and the rest of his staff stood in a group, many of them arguing amongst themselves. Dumbledore noticed them and silenced the staff members causing them to look at the newly arrived guards

"It would seem," Dumbledore said, "that my staff believes you both to be too young and too inexperienced to guard a school full of witches and wizards, some of whom are as old as you." He said this with a small smile making Naruto wonder what their employer was plotting. Once again, he was reminded of the Sandaime and his tricky ways.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore's words. They were being underestimated because of their age. Again. And Naruto was tired of it.

Stepping forward, ignoring Sakura's protests, he stared hard at the staff members. Half of them were shorter than him, thanks to the Kyuubi induced growth spurt he experienced when he was fifteen, giving him the intimidating edge he needed.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept that even though we're young by your standards, we're qualified?" he asked. At first, the group remained silent. Then a man as tall as him stepped forward.

"It is hard to trust in outsiders, especially those younger that ourselves," the man replied. "Everything about you and your people remains a mystery to most if not all those of our community. If you are as mature and," he paused then, "experienced as you claim to be, then you should understand our distrust. People fear what they do not and cannot understand." Many of the others nodded in agreement and Naruto's glare turned to a normal stare.

He understood more than they could realize. Growing up as a Jinchuuriki is never easy.

"Well, then I suppose there's no other way to solve this matter of trust and distrust than to wait and see." He gave them a small smile. "Hopefully, we'll be lucky enough that we won't have to do much of anything and the year will pass by smoothly."

Of course, he was wrong. There's never an uneventful year at Hogwarts, after all.

**Page Break Thingy**

Naruto stood facing Sakura on the open space between the school and the lake. Neither one moved, making them seem like statues to the students going to their outside classes and they watched as they walked.

Naruto was the first to move, smiling wide. "Remember to go easy on me."

Sakura smiled back. "Don't worry; I won't." He laughed.

They both slipped into fighting stances albeit Naruto's attempt being slightly awkward from lack of practice. Sakura launched herself at Naruto at a somewhat faster pace than what she believed he could dodge or block in his state. She aimed a punch at his face, remembering just in time to hold back most of her power. She was mildly surprised, however, when he did block it.

Not missing a beat, she moved to sweep his feet from under him, her fist still in his hand. He wasn't able to jump fast enough and ended up falling to the ground with a heavy thump and an angry gasp. She had to hold back her laughter as he growled.

"I can't possibly have gotten this bad," he mumbled, rubbing his tailbone. It probably would have bruised if he didn't heal at such an extraordinary rate. He did though and he could feel the pain going away already.

"I can," Sakura replied, hearing him only because she was close enough. "Going a year without doing anything can do that. You surprised me when you blocked that first punch though. What was that? Reflex?" She helped him to his feet and he dusted himself off.

He shrugged. "I guess so." He looked around seeing that the students were all in their classes, leaving the field open. "How about we hold off on the sparring until I'm in slightly better shape?"

"Alright," she agreed. "I'll check around the halls a bit before heading up to the Infirmary. If you need me, you know where to find me."

He watched as she left before he created two shadow clones, sending them to help patrol. He wanted to check out the classes themselves to see if he could learn anything about their so called 'magic'. And if he was lucky, he could find the green-eyed boy that had somehow managed to elude him for the past three days.

**Page Break Thingy**

Naruto didn't end up learning anything about magic and he didn't find the green-eyed boy. He did, however, manage to run into the man that had spoken up in the dining hall the night they arrived.

The man's name turned out to be Quentin Gladstone, the new Professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The man, who really was as tall as he was, had dark brown hair pulled into a small tail at the nape of his neck and chocolate colored eyes. His pale skin contrasted sharply to his black robes.

They had passed each other in the hall and Naruto would have kept on walking, had the Professor not called out his name.

"Mr. Uzumaki," Gladstone called. Naruto turned around and looked at him.

"Yeah?" Not exactly polite, but this was Naruto.

"Could I have a word with you for a moment?"

Naruto hesitated, but finally followed Gladstone into an empty classroom. He watched warily as Gladstone moved to the Professor's desk and realized that this was probably the man's own classroom. Gladstone summoned a chair away from one of the student desks and set it in front of his desk. "Sit." Naruto didn't like the tone Gladstone used, but complied anyway. He hadn't shown any outward malice to him, yet.

"I would like your help with something," Gladstone said. Naruto didn't say anything, so he took this as the okay to continue. "As you probably already know, it is my duty to prepare my students for the dangers of the adult wizard's world. Now, before you and your partner's arrival, I was confident that I would be able to do so."

"What is it exactly you want me to do about that?"

"I want you to help teach my students how to defend themselves against you and your people."

"No."

Gladstone obviously didn't expect Naruto to answer so quickly, and certainly not with a negative response.

"But-."

Naruto stood up sharply and the chair slid back with a loud scratching noise. "I cannot and will not reveal any of my techniques or those of my comrades to outsiders just because of your OCD with teaching." Naruto left the classroom via the nearby window, not wanting the Professor to follow him.

**Page Break Thingy**

Two weeks later found him standing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest with a feeling of unease that rooted itself at the bottom of his stomach and stubbornly refused to leave him.

The forest had been one of the few places he hadn't gone yet, mainly because he hadn't had a reason to go there. Now, however, something about it felt wrong to him, but he didn't know what. It didn't feel quite the same as Orochimaru, but it was somewhat similar. He wondered if it had anything to do with that Voldy guy he had heard about from Sakura earlier.

Sakura liked to stay in the Infirmary in her free time and took to the Library other times. Naruto had tried to gather research, but he was more of a go-getter than a bookworm. They had both agreed that she would be better suited to gather the information that Tsunade needed while Naruto would send his shadow clones to roam the grounds. The real Naruto would train every chance he got.

Two weeks since the start of the mission and he was nowhere near his previous level. Who would have thought that a year without training would have made him this weak?

His eyes narrowed as a chakra signature unfamiliar to him moved at a fast pace towards him through the forest. The thing had come practically out of nowhere. It was going to be a strong opponent, whatever it was, and should the owner of that chakra have ill intentions then he wasn't sure he'd be able to win the fight. Not as he was anyway.

Deciding to be on the safe side, he flared his chakra twice for two reasons. One, if whatever was barreling down on him was indeed an enemy then it would hopefully be deterred by the large amount of chakra he had and leave. Two, the chakra flare would alert Sakura and get her to help him should a fight break out.

Sakura arrived two seconds after his call with a worried expression on her face, but Naruto didn't look away from the forest. Whatever was coming hadn't been scared off by his chakra. In fact, whatever it was seemed to be moving even faster than before. Not a good sign.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. She tensed slightly having sensed the incoming chakra signature. "What is that?"

Naruto answered truthfully. "I don't know." He created ten shadow clones and sent them to warn the staff and to help get the students to safety just in case. The creature broke through the tree line as soon as the clones were out of sight.

"A chimera!" Sakura gasped.

Neither shinobi was given any time after that to say anything as the bird-crocodile-lion combination threw itself at Sakura. She dodged and slid to a stop next to Naruto, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She stood up and calmed herself quickly. Naruto glanced at her momentarily before turning his attention back on the beast.

"What's a chimera?" Naruto asked before forming the seals for a fire jutsu. The flame that poured from his mouth at the chimera faltered after a moment not even reaching the chimera. The flames would have consumed his face if he hadn't stopped and pulled away. Cursing his lack of control, he pulled out a kunai instead.

Sakura ignored his question in favor of attacking the mindless chimera with chakra charged fists. The chimera howled in pain as she managed to connect a glancing blow to its shoulder. Unfortunately for the two shinobi, the chimera recovered quickly and came back with a vengeance, whipping its tail at a speed that shouldn't have been possible for a ten foot tall creature. The tail missed when Sakura jumped over it and as the chimera continued in its swing courtesy centrifugal force, she completed her jump with a somersault that landed her directly on its back.

The chimera obviously didn't like giving piggyback rides.

Naruto watched, unable to do anything lest he injure his own teammate, as the chimera ran in wide circles like a chicken with its head cut off. Sakura aimed a punch at the chimera's head, but was intercepted by a clawed hand that slapped her away angrily sending her flying into a nearby tree. The tree groaned under the force and Sakura's breath left her lungs in a hurry.

Naruto ran to her side keeping a watchful eye on the chimera that, now that they were occupied, made its way to the main building. "Sakura, are you alright?"

She coughed, but nodded. "Hurry up and go after it before it reaches the school." He helped her sit up before running after the chimera which, by now, had nearly made it to the doors. He charged chakra to his feet to speed him up and he put himself between the castle and the chimera in a somewhat vain attempt at redirecting the beast elsewhere.

It didn't work.

The chimera collided with Naruto and Naruto dug his chakra empowered feet into the gravel to slow it down. The chimera swatted angrily at Naruto's head sending pain to his nervous system and black spots to his vision. Despite the fact that he probably had a concussion, he charged even more chakra to his feet slowing the chimera down even more.

But it still wasn't enough to hold it back. Naruto realized this when he felt his back hit the wooden doors of the school building. He endured another painful slap to his head for his trouble. He clenched his teeth as he heard his ear drum pop audibly when the clawed fist hit his ear. Gash marks across the side of his head bled and stung every time the wind shifted or the beast thrashed reminding Naruto why he hated having more than one injury at one time. His healing ability took extra time to decide which injury it would heal first. Sometimes, it took a little too long and he ended up unconscious from blood loss.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura yell and he watched as Sakura ran towards him as fast as she could. She made it to his side in time to intercept another hit to his head and was able to push the chimera away from the doors long enough for him to get his bearings back.

Hurt, angry, and very frustrated with himself, Naruto charged a Rasengan in his right hand. It wasn't the perfect form of the attack since his control had diminished back to when he was thirteen, but it would deal enough damage to hopefully kill the damned chimera. Sakura moved away from it and Naruto shoved the ball of chakra into the chimera's chest before it even realized that Sakura had moved. The creature gave a startled yelp of surprise and pain before the Rasengan tore through its heart, killing it.

Naruto fell to the ground onto his back at the exact same time as the chimera startling a shout from Sakura. She kneeled down next to him asking if he was alright was beginning a diagnostic jutsu. Naruto told her he felt as fine as could be as he let the chakra pass through his system, a feeling he was quite used to. Then he realized with a sudden thought that Sakura had yet to answer his question from earlier.

"What's a chimera?" he asked again.

His question, however, was not going to be answered again as the sound of someone clearing their throat reached his one working ear, the other having been burst by the hit to his ear. Sakura didn't let him turn his head to look at said person enticing an annoyed growl to escape his throat.

Sakura glared at him. "No, Naruto. Don't move your head until I'm sure the cuts weren't deep enough to pierce your skull." She smiled. "Wouldn't want what's left of your brain to just fall out, now would we?"

Naruto bit his tongue to keep himself from replying. She'd only hurt him if he made her angry with one of his sarcastic come-backs. And right now, he wouldn't stand the slightest chance in Hell of protecting himself from Sakura's strength. He'd just have to wait to pay her back when he was sure he could outrun her.

Dumbledore's face came into view as did that of the woman from the Infirmary he'd seen once or twice. Sakura ensured the woman that she had everything under control and that she was best to treat him, which she was, but that didn't mean the woman knew that. The face of the woman left his sight just as quickly as it came.

"I do believe that you have convinced some of the staff that you are both indeed qualified," Dumbledore said. He was smiling the same smile from the night in the dining hall sending Naruto's conspiracy sensors off. "Congratulations on winning your battle. However, I do wish to know everything you know about this beast when you get the chance." When Sakura nodded, he continued. "Meanwhile, I will be in my office writing letters of apology for the disturbance to the parents of the students."

Dumbledore's face left his field of vision and he looked at Sakura feeling the diagnostic jutsu come to its end.

"How long do I have to live, doctor?" Naruto joked. Sakura's frown told him that either she didn't like his joke or she didn't like the results of her test. "Sakura?"

She looked at him. "Something's wrong with the seal."

The mission was starting to look a lot less appealing by the moment.

**Page Break Thingy**

TBC

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